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It shal) be don 5), if that ye wol) it here"),
Said this Doctour, and his Tale began anon.

Now, good men, quod he, herkeneth ) everich on 9).

THE DOC TOURES TALE.

Ther was, as telleth Titus Livius,

A knight that cleped 10) was Virginius,
Fulfilled of honour and worthinesse,

And strong of frendes, and of gret richesse 1).

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This knight a doughter hadde by his wif;

No children had he mo 12) in all his lif
Faire was this maid in excellent beautee
Aboven every wight 13) that man may see,
For Nature hath with soveraine 14) diligence
Y-formed 5) hire 16) in so gret excellence
As though she wolde sayn, Lo, I Nature
Thus can I forme and peint a creature,

Whan that me list 17): who can me contrefete 18)?
Pigmalion? not though he ay 19) forge and bete 20),
Or grave, or peinte; for I dare wel sain

Apelles, Xeuxis, shulden 21) werche 22) in vain
Other 23) to grave, or peinte, or forge, or bete,
If they presumed me to contrefete:

For he that is the former principal

Hath maked 24) me his vicaire general

To forme and peinten erthly creatures

Right as me list; and eche 25) thing in my cure 26) is
Under the mone 27) that may wane 28) and waxe;

4) shal shall. 5) don done. 6) wol, v. auxil. Sax. to will. 7) here v. Sax. to hear. ") herken to hearken. 9) everich on every one. 10) clepe v Sax. to call. 11) richesse riches. 12) mo more. 13) wight a person male or female. 14) soveraine excellent in a high degree. 15) Y-formed for formed, y-blessed, blessed. 16) hire, her. 17) list, liste, luste, please. 18) contrefete to counterfeit, to imitate. 19) ay ever. 20) bete to beat. 21) shulden should. 22) werche, werke to work. 23) other either. 24) maked made. 25) eche every one. 26) cure care. 27) mone moon., 28) wane to de

crease.

And for my werk right 29) nothing wol 30) I axe 31):
My lord and I ben 32) ful of an accord;

I made hire to the worship of my lord,'
So do I all min other creatures,

What colour that they han 33) or what figures.
Thus semeth me that Nature wolde say.

This maid of age twell yere was and tway 34)
In which that Nature hadde swiche 35) delit 36);
For right as she can peint a lily whit

And red a rose, right with swiche peinture
She peinted hath this noble creature

1) hete.

Er 37) she was borne upon hire limmes 38) free,
Wheras by right swiche colours shulden be;
And Phebus died 39) hath hire tresses grete
Like to the stremes 40) of his burned
And if that excellent were hire beautee,
A thousand fold more vertuous was she.
In hire 2) ne *) lacked no condition
That is to preise. 3), as by discretion.
As wel in gost as body chast was she,
For which she floured in virginitee
With all humilitee and abstinence,
With all attemperance and patience

With mesure *4) eke of being 45) and array.
Discrete she was in answering alway,

Though she were wise as Pallas, dare I sain,
Hire facounde) eke ful womanly and plain;
No contrefeted termes hadde she

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To semen wise, but after hire degree *7),

She spake, and all hire wordes more and lesse

Souning ) in vertue and in gentilesse,

Shamefast) she was in 50) maidens shamefastnesse,

29) right, adv. exactly, truly, rightly etc. it is frequently joined to adjectives, to augment their force. 30) wol to will. 31) axe ask. 32) ben are. 33) han have. 34) tway two. 35) swiche such. 36) delit delight. 37) er ere. 3) limmes limbs. 39) die to tinge.. 40) stremes the rays of the sun. 4) burned burnished. 42) hire her. ") ne not. 4) to preise to

praise, to value. +4) mesure moderation. 45) bering behaviour. 4) facounde eloquence. 47) degree rank in life. soune to sound. 49) shamefast modest. 50) in with.

48)

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Constant in herte, and ever in besinesse
To drive hire out of idel slogardie 1).
Bacchus had of hire mouth right no maistrie 5),
For wine and youthe don Venus encrese,

As men in fire wol casten oile and grese 53).
And of hire owen vertue unconstreined

She hath hireself ful often sike 34) yfeined,
For that she wolde fleen 55) the compagnie
Wher likely was to treten 56) of folie,

As is at festes, at revels 57), and at dances,
That ben occasions of daliances 58).
Swiche thinges maken children for 5) to be
To sone 6) ripe and bold, as men may see,.
Which is ful perilous, and hath ben yore 1);
For al to sone may she lernen lore 2)
Of boldnesse whan she woxen 63) is a wif.

And ye maistresses 6*), in your olde lif,
That lordes doughters han in governance,
Ne taketh of my wordes displesance 65):
Thinketh that ye ben set in governinges
Of lordes doughters only for two thinges,
Other 66) for ye han kept your honestee,
Or elles ) for ye han fallen in freeltee 6),
And known wel ynough the olde dance 69),
And han forsaken fully swiche meschance
For evermo; therefore for Christes sake

To teche hem 70) vertue loke that ye ne slake 1).
A theef of venison, that hath forlaft (72)

His likerousnesse 3) and all his olde craft,

Can kepe 74) a forest best of any man:

acts

51) slogardie sloth. 52) maistrie power, superiority. 537 grese grease. 5) sike sick. 55) Aleen to flee. 56) trete to treat, to discourse. 57) revel sport, festivity; entertainment properly during the night. 5a) daliance, an interchange of caresses, of fondness. 59) for, pro Lat., pour Fr.; it is frequently prefixed to verbs in the infinitive mode in the French manner. 6) to sone too soon. 61) yore of a long time. 62) lore knowledge, doctrine. 63) woxen grown. 4) maistresse mistress, governess. 65) displesance displeasure. 66) other either. 67) elles else. 63) freeltee frailty. *) The French have the same phrase: elle sait assez de la vieille danse. 70) hem them. 71) slake to fail. 72) forlaft left off entirely. 73) likerous gluttonous. 74) kepe to take care.

Now kepeth hem wel, for if ye wol ye can.
Loke wel that ye unto no vice assent,

Lest ye

be damned for your wikke 75) entent 7),
For who so doth a traytour is certain:
And taketh kepe 77) of that I shal you sain;
Of alle treson soveraine pestilence
Is whan a wight 78) betrayeth innocence.

Ye fathers, and ye mothers eke also,
Though ye han children, be it on or mo,
Your is the charge of all hir 79) surveance 8°)
While that they ben under your governance:
Beth 1) ware that by ensample of your living,
Or by your negligence in chastising,

That they ne perish, for I dare wel saye

If that they don ye shul it dere 2) abeye 3).
Under a shepherd soft and negligent

The wolf hath many a shepe and lamb to-rent 4).
Sufficieth this ensample now as here,

For I mote 5) turne agen to my matere,

8

This maid, of which I tell my tale expresse,
She kept hireself, hire neded 87) no maistresse,
For in hire living maidens mighten rede 8),

As in a book, every good word and dede
That longeth) to a maiden vertuous:
She was so prudent and so bounteous,

For which the fame out sprong on every side

Both of hire beautee and hire bountee wide,

That thurgh 90) the lond 9) they preised hire ech one 92) That loved vertue, sauf 93) Envie alone,

That sory is of other mannes wele 94) 1

And glad is of his sorwe 95) and his unhele 96).

The Doctour maketh this descriptioun.

This maiden on a day went in the toun

75) wikke wikked.

76) entent intention.

77) kepe care,

79) hir their. 82) dere dear.

attention. 78) wight, a person male or female. 3) surveance superintendance. ) beth be ye. 3) abeye to suffer for. ) to-rent rent in pieces. 85) mote must. ) kepe to take care. 87) nede is generally used as an impersonal. a) rede to read. 9) long to belong. 99) thurgh through. 9) lond land. 92) ech one every one. 93) sauf safe: 4) wele prosperity. 95) sorwe sorrow. 96) unhele misfortune.

:

Toward a temple, with hire mother dere 97),
As is of yonge maidens the manere 9).
Now was ther than a justice in that toun.
That governour was of that regioun;
And so befell this juge his eyen cast

Upon this maid, avising 99) here ful fast

As she came forth by ther 100) this juge stood:
Anon his herte changed and his mood,

So was he caught with beautee of this maid,
And to himself ful prively he said,

This maiden shal be min for 101) any man.

Anon the fend 102) into his herte ran,
And taught him sodenly 103) that he by sleight 104)
This maiden to his purpos winnen 105) might;
For certes by no force ne by no mede 10).
Him thought he was not able for to spede 107);
For she was strong of frendes, and eke she
Confermed was in swiche soveraine bountee,
That wel he wist 108) he might hire never winne
As for to make hire with hire body sinne:

For which with gret deliberatioun

He sent after a cherl 109) was in the toun,
The which he knew for sotil 110) and for bold.
This juge unto this cherl his tale hath told

In secree wise, and made him to ensure 1)
He shulde tell it to ne creature,

And if he did he shulde lese 112) his hede.

And whan assented was this cursed rede 113)

'Glad was the juge, and maked him gret chere 114), And yaf) him yeftes 116) precious and dere.

Whan shapen 1) was all hir conspiracie Fro point to point, how that his lecherie

97) dere dear. 98) manere behaviour. 99) avise to observe. 100) ther there, in that place, is frequently used in the sense of where. 101) for sometimes signifies: against. 102) fend an enemy, the devil. 103) soden sudden. 10+) sleight contrivance. Ios) winnen to gain. 106) mede reward. 197) to spede to dispatch. 108) wist knew. 109) cherl a man of mean 110) sotil artfully. 11) ensure tó assure. 112) lese to lose, 113) rede advice, counsel. 114) chere good cheer, entertainment. 115) yaf gave. 116) yefte a gift. 117) shape to form.

birth and condition.

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